Dec 23

One more milestone achieved!  Today Luggage Free picked up 4 big suitcases which will be shipped to our cabin.  Because we will be sailing on the entire 180 day cruise, Oceania is paying for the luggage to be shipped! 

 We will each have a rolling duffel bag and a backpack that we will be responsible for and those are mostly packed.  We need to get this cruise started so that we quit adding things to the duffel bags!  Notice I didn't say anything about removing things from the duffel....only adding!

Got our 2nd HepA vaccine while we were in NC this past week, had Christmas with our amazing family, said good-bye to our wonderful neighbors, and drove back to SFlorida.  We're ready to sail!!!

December 15, 2015:

I thought  I'd write a brief note about our itinerary and ship.  We are on the beautiful Insignia of Oceania cruise line, built in 1998 and refurbished in 2014.  She is about 590 feet in length, her beam is 83.5 feet and maximum draught is 19.5 feet.  She carries stabilizers and cruises at 18 knots.  Since she is a small ship she can go up rivers and into ports that the larger ships cannot.

(picture by Dave of Insignia in the Italian port of Civitavecchia)

There are 9 full decks and the 10 is a lovely place to get a 360 degree view of the world.  She can carry 684 people with an international staff of 400.  There are five restaurants: some elegant, some  casual, and no formal nights so I don't have to pack my tiara.

There is evening entertainment, a few bars and a casino,which won't get our $ since David the engineer knows the odds!  Room service is offered for all meals which we might take advantage of some evenings after returning from excursions tired and sunscreen grubby.

There is a coffee bar (Yay!) and afternoon tea, a library, pools, gym, spa, beauty shop, clinic with medical staff, and small walking track on the 10 deck with about 13 laps to a mile! 

We have a 200 sq. ft cabin with veranda  on the 7th deck right in the ship's middle to defeat mal de mer! Several people have remarked on being in 200 sq ft with their spouse for 6 months but we vow to remain married AND friends, and have I mentioned.... the pool, the library and the walking track?

   (picture by Cynthia at Portofino)

We head for the Epic Hotel in Miami on Jan 3 and will take the opportunity to walk around, catch the trolley, and ride the metromover since it has been years since we've seen the city of Miami.  The next morning staff takes us to the ship to start our great adventure--and to celebrate David's birthday!

For those asking about our itinerary, here it is!  It is too long to list, but you can keep track of us by clicking away.    We're not promising an entry every day, but we'll post often........cynthia

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/180-day-world-cruises/miami-to-miami-INS160104G/